all-access

Need Access Update - Doing More with Less

In case you’re not familiar with Need Access, it is a financial aid application offered by Access Group that gathers information from students to determine their eligibility for institutional financial aid.

Fifty four schools currently use Need Access, 24 law schools, 24 health professional, and 6 business and general graduate schools.  This year, the 09-10 academic year, 22,000 new applicants used Need Access.  Click here for a list of Need Access participating schools.

2010-2011 Product Updates:

1.    Improvements will be made to the “re-submit” process.  Schools have several processes to help manage the applicants that update their application after the initial submission.  To date, we have over 1700 resubmits this year.

2.    Going forward, the student’s marital status will be aligned with the FAFSA.  In addition, new options will include “separated”, and “divorced/widowed” to better gauge the applicants’ situations.

3.    Additional data file layout will include a XML file format.

4.    Although, we’ve only had one instance of a student that couldn’t use the Pay-Pal feature, the Pay-Pal process will be refined to ensure ease of transaction. 

FAFSA Simplification and Need Access:

FAFSA simplification seems to be on a lot of minds.  There are 2 stages to the simplification. 

·Right now … A reduced number of questions will make the application process easier. 

·In the future … pending legislation will eliminate many savings and income-related questions from the FAFSA … stay tuned for the impact to the EFC!

See the resources section to the right for a complete copy of the Need Access Update Presentation.

Posted by: Sue Ledwell

Thank You ...

 

 

 

 

On behalf of the Access Group staff, my sincere thanks for your participation in and enthusiasm for our 2009 conference. Whether you attended in person or followed along on the blog, we hope you enjoyed learning from this year’s knowledgeable speakers and presenters.  We hope their insights encourage all of us to think and reflect on how we live our lives and do our jobs.

 

Thanks to:

 

· Edward James Olmos and his provocative “We’re all in the Same Gang”,

· Brett Leif and his informative Industry Update,

· My new “best friend,” Jean Chatzky  for her “Recession Busting” wisdom,

· Nina Totenberg’s insights on the Supreme Court, and 

· All the accomplished and talented presenters, panelists and session leaders.

An additional thanks to our 2009 Conference Planning Committee, Dan Burr (Chair), Cheryl Constantine, Dotti Davidson, Susan Gross, Joseph Lindsay, Larry Mueller, Emily Osborn, Cheryl White and Sheila Williams. Their dedication and hard work enabled us to continue our tradition of a strong and relevant education program for graduate and professional school administrators. 

 

Everyone at Access Group looks forward to seeing you next year.  Stay tuned.. we will forward more details this winter. 

 

We wish you all a happy and safe holiday season.

 

Sincerely,

 

Vivian G Bowden

Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer

Access Group

The Future of Student Lending

 

Access Group’s director of borrower education services, Jeff Hanson, moderated the final session of the 2009 conference, “The Future of Student Lending.”   His respected panel included:

· John Dean, Attorney, The Law Offices of John E. Dean

· Richard George, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation

· Dr. Sam Kipp, Former President, EdFund

· Dr. Dave Mohning, Executive Director of the Office of Student Financial Aid and Undergraduate Scholarships, Vanderbilt University

 

With all the changes in the financial markets and the many forces affecting the student loan industry, this session offered a panel discussion that provided a variety of perspectives on where the industry is headed, and what that will mean for you and your students.

For a copy of the notes taken from the session, please click “Conference Materials for Download” to the right under the “Reference” heading.

 

Posted by: Jeff Hanson, Jocelyn Dangler & Jen Trauman

 

“The Supreme Court” with Nina Totenberg

Right off the bat, Ms. Totenberg, luncheon speaker on the final day, tells us that she’s a college drop-out and how ironic that she’s speaking to a group such as ours.  That’s ok Nina; we won’t hold it against you.

Nina Totenberg is the Legal Affairs Correspondent for NPR’s Washington desk.  Her knowledge and understanding of the Supreme Court and all its complexities are very impressive.  I’ll admit that I don’t know as much about our Nation’s court system as maybe I should … and I bet that’s the case for a lot of us.  Nina understands that.  She did a great job of giving the audience a “Supreme Court 101” while interjecting anecdotes as only someone with the experience of Nina Totenberg can.

We enjoyed learning from three very provocative, insightful and just plain smart speakers during this year’s conference.  Thanks to all of them!

Posted by: Tom Ramaeker

Accepted … Yes. Financially Prepared … Maybe!

I have felt a strong personal connection to this session topic for some time.  My experience as a financial aid administrator and delivering borrower education presentations on behalf of Access Group has taught me how little prospective students know about financing their graduate education.  They are literally unprepared financially for the journey on which they are about to embark.

Many graduate students, at such a young age, are already dealing with financial distress and are under tremendous pressure both financially and academically.  Certainly, the stress from their financial situation hurts their ability to focus and be successful while in school.

The time they spend in school is so short, relative to the rest of their lives, and yet is so valuable. The choices they make, financial and otherwise, leading up to and during their time in school are extremely important as it will affect them for many years to come. 

As financial aid administrators and graduate loan specialists, together we have the tools to help them.  The trick is getting them to listen and hear what we have to teach them.

Tony Sozzo, the Associate Dean for Student Affairs at New York Medical College and Reyes Aguilar, the Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid at the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law are two seasoned FA professionals.  They presented innovative delivery methods to create ways of reaching their prospective students.

As an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education quoted several months ago … “e-mail is for old people”.  While I’m not sure that statement is necessarily accurate, it is becoming increasingly challenging to reach our students, most of whom fall in the millennial generation.  We have to get creative these days to capture prospective students’ attention. 

The fact is, iPhones, iPods, the iTouch and a whole world of smart phones and PDA’s are considered to be the preferred method of delivery for this generation.  The use of podcasts, vodcats, and blogs can be a very effective way of sending pertinent and important messages to our students.  

Tony and Reyes talked to us about podcasting and webcasting as two great ways for us to communicate with our specific audiences with brief, succinct and valuable messages. 

Posted by: Jennifer Trauman

Recession Busting with Jean Chatzky

Jean Chatsky, personal finance expert, spoke on “The Difference:  How Anyone Can Prosper in Even the Toughest Times” [also the title of her new book] and how individuals can make the difference in their own lives. 

 

Jean’s comments are especially relevant, not just because each of us is interested from a personal perspective, but because so many of us are involved in influencing the financial decisions of students.   

 

She has a very approachable style and creates an environment that makes people feel comfortable to ask questions, knowing they are going to receive insightful, direct and helpful responses.  In one response, she acknowledged that she realizes her financial situation is different and that the decisions she makes aren’t necessarily the correct decisions for others – that each of us has our own values and that our financial decisions should align with those values.

 

Some of her ideas that caught my attention:

· Spending money on experiences brings more long-term personal rewards than spending money on things.  For example, spending money on a special vacation or celebratory event will mean more to you in the future than spending money on a material item.

· Saving money is not fun because there isn’t an immediate gratification.  So we need to visualize in specific terms what we are saving for.  For example, don’t think of saving for “Retirement”.  Develop a specific visual picture of something concrete related to your retirement – such as your mortgage-free home, a vacation house, or being able to enjoy your favorite past-time.  It is fun to have savings!

 

 

Jean’s first book (Make Money, Not Excuses) was based on the concept of Four Steps to Wealth.  They are …

1.    Make a decent living,

2.    Spend less than you make,

3.    Invest what you don’t spend for the long-term, and

4.    Protect your financial life with insurance and an estate plan.

 

After that book, she started researching an answer to the question – Why is it that some people are better able to achieve financial success than others?  The concepts she developed based on her research include:

 

Four Types of People:

1.     Wealthy (3%)

2.     Financially Comfortable (37%)

3.     Living Paycheck-to-Paycheck (55%)

4.     Further-in-debtors (15%)

 

Eight things that make the difference:

1.  Happiness/Optimism

2.  Resilience

3.  Connectedness

4.  Passion*

5.  Intuition

6.  Habitual Saving

7.  Invest in Stocks

8.  Gratitude:  The Karma Kickback

 

*Specific to Passion, Jean talked about the two choices to pursue this.

Choice 1:

• Pinpoint your passion (If you aren’t sure what this is think back to what gave you great joy when you were 10 or 11 years old.),
• Figure out if you can do it better than it is being done now, and
• Know whether you can make money at it.

If you can’t make money out of your passion, it should just be a hobby. 

So, Choice 2 advises:

• Love what you are doing,
• Look for the autonomy in your work, and
• Fake it till you make it. (Yes, it works and it makes a big difference in how others perceive you.)

Check out Jean’s blog where you’ll find great tools like the Holiday Budget Calculator and the Debt Diet Online.

 

Posted by: Tim Balfour

The Effect of the Economic Crisis on Professional Judgment Issues

 Communication was the overall theme while discussing the effect of the economic crisis on professional judgment issues. The panel John Ahlers, Eileen Doyle, Melanie Nutt and Priscilla Parker all sounded the communication bell.

Communicate with:

• your students
• other offices on campus, i.e. Career Services, Admissions, Alumni, Dean of Students
  
  

Panelists are reaching out to students in writing and in person trying to stress the message "come to us before you are in trouble."

Students are experiencing the financial hardship.  Both the recently admitted and soon to be entering as well as the alumni, recent and long since heard from….

Audience members concurred with the presenters stating they have experienced a growing number of leave of absences on campus and more admitted students asking for extensions.

The moral of the story...the economic crisis is affecting graduate students.  I think the panelists are on the right track, get ready to communicate!

 

Posted by: Lori Moore

Student Lending ... Did I Hear Optimism?

Brett Lief, President of NCHELP, provided the Industry Update this morning entitled the New World of Student Lending.  After months (or has it been years) of pessimistic news regarding the student loan industry, Brett’s presentation contained a bit of optimism.  The possibility of a bill being introduced in Congress by the end of the week to extend ECASLA, and thus FFEL was the highlight of the session.

 

Brett admitted that FFEL as we knew it in 2006 is gone and will not return but the door may not be closing as fast as we once thought.  As student lending legislation is continually being pushed back by the health care debate, Washington is becoming increasingly concerned about the affect on 2010 elections if fallout occurs with school’s mandatory conversion to Direct Lending.  As Brett mentioned, the proposed deadline for conversion of July 1, 2010 translates into a practical deadline of February due to financial aid packaging timelines which does not allow the remaining thousands of schools much time to convert. 

 

NCHELP is currently working on an alternative loan proposal which has garnered support from several democratic senators that would save and preserve school choice and services.  This proposal is less concerned about how lenders receive their funds and more about continuing the valuable services provided by FFEL.  Brett urged everyone to speak up as private individuals or through their professional associations.

 

The session closed with a poignant question ... are we looking at a delay of the inevitable and what signs should we look for that FFEL may survive in some form?  Brett responded that the first sign of hope for some kind of FFEL survival would be the passage of a bill to extend ECASLA so stay tuned.

Posted by: Kim Siwarski

Another Lovely Day in Orlando

According to The Weather Channel ... we're in for a great day.  Let's hope these few clouds don't get in the way of today's Space Shuttle launch!

Visit weather.com for more about today's forecast ...

 

   

Today's Forecast in Beautiful Orlando, FL

If you’ve already arrived here in Orlando, you know what a gorgeous day it is. 

For those of us from climates that are typically chilly this time of year, it’s a nice reprieve from the cold.  For a few days we can forget that winter is on its way.  

 

According to The Weather Channel, today will be sunny with a high temperature of 81 degrees and tonight’s low will be 56 degrees with a few passing clouds.  That sounds just about perfect to me.

 

Below is the current radar image for the Orlando area.  For a more detailed forecast, visit weather.com.

Posted by: Libby Rosenberg

 

 

A Message from Access Group’s Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer: Vivian Bowden

Those of you who know me know that the Access Group Conference is my favorite professional event of the year.  Why? First, it’s a great chance to reconnect with so many of my friends and longtime colleagues.  It is hard to imagine that some of you have attended our conference for 22 years! I guess that makes me a rookie, since this is only my 16^th conference.  Second, I’ve learned so much from all of you throughout the years.  Thanks for helping make this a wonderful event year after year.

Over the past two decades, we’ve celebrated the new millennium at the Greenbrier, watched armadillos race in San Antonio, ate alligator in Florida, and enjoyed our own Access Hollywood Party in Palm Springs where Tom Cruise showed up (thanks Bill Perez for the giggles).  And who could forget all the Mrs. Howells walking around at our Gilligan’s Island party?  We’ve also have enjoyed many nationally-recognized speakers, with Paul Begala, Mark Shields, Michelle Singletary, Alison Levine and Kevin Carroll being a few of my favorites.  Now, I’m looking forward to seeing you again at the beautiful JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes in Orlando Florida in just a few days.

We’re so pleased to be welcoming you to this year’s conference. We’ve been working with our volunteer conference planning committee for months on sessions that offer great educational content. We also have an impressive line-up of nationally-known general session speakers which I can’t wait to hear. I know I’m dating myself, but I’ve been a big fan of Edward James Olmos since his days on Miami Vice. Currently, he serves as the U. S. Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF and works as a humanitarian activist, in addition to his work as an actor, director and producer. I’m also a big fan of NPR’s Nina Totenberg and the Today Show’s Jean Chatzky, so you’ll find me sitting in the front for all of these general session events.

The conference is only a few days away, so, as you can imagine, we’re busy preparing to make sure everything is just the way you like it when you step up to our conference registration desk. I know I speak for everyone here at Access Group when I say we’re so pleased that you’re joining us for our 22^nd Annual Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference!

Posted by: Vivian Bowden

“The Supreme Court and Its Impact on You” with Nina Totenberg: Tuesday, November 17 @ 1:00 p.m.

Is there anyone who needs an introduction to this speaker?  I’m sure we’re all looking forward to hearing from Nina Totenberg.  She’s an American legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR).  Her reports air regularly on NPR's newsmagazines All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition.

She is also a panelist on the syndicated TV political commentary show Inside Washington, not to mention she’s a frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine, The Harvard Law Review, The Christian Science Monitor, Parade Magazine, New York Magazine, and others.

Newsweek says, "The mainstays [of NPR] are “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.” But the creme de la creme is Nina Totenberg."

Nina Totenberg has won numerous awards, including being named Broadcaster of the Year and being honored with the 1998 Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcasting from the National Press Foundation, the first radio journalist to receive the award.

Totenberg will be sharing her perspectives on legal issues affecting the lives of every American.  This is a real treat and something we won’t want to miss.  Will she share her views on the “new’ Supreme Court? Where is the Court heading? How is our legal landscape changing?  

 I had the opportunity to introduce Ms. Totenberg once before, at the BENCH PRESS symposium in Washington D.C. a few years ago, and her talk on the symposium topic, The Intersection of the Judiciary, Politics and the Media, was timely, insightful and profound. 

See you on Tuesday at lunch for her talk.

Posted by: Hannah Arterian

Perspective from “Inside the Beltway”: An Industry Update from Brett Lief

What’s next for the student loan programs and how can schools cope with the changes?

Are you wondering (like I am):  What’s happening in Washington? How is the Department of Education going to get everyone in the Direct Program by July 1, 2010 if SAFRA passes? What about all the new regulations resulting from CCRAA and HEOA? How are we to cope with all the changes?

Well, Brett Lief is one person who may have some great insights and I’m really looking forward to hear what he has to say in his Industry Update at the upcoming Access Group Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference.

Many of you know Brett, but in case you don’t…

· He’s currently President of the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs, Inc. (NCHELP), check out their site at www.nchelp.org.

· Prior to NCHELP, he served as Assistant Vice President for Student Aid Policy and Regulatory Affairs for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU).

· Before joining NAICU, he served as the Deputy Executive Director of the New Jersey Department of Higher Education.

We all have so many questions and Brett Lief is the guy with the answers.  Be sure to attend his Industry Update session after breakfast on Monday, November 16^th @ 8:30.  Don’t worry. I’m sure you can bring your coffee with you.

Posted by: Jeff Hanson